macarons me donnent envie de dormir

Stayed up till morning making macarons..
but I can't believe I forgot to take photos before deplenishing them.

REALLY SAD FACE... almost as sad as this mermahuataur!

J'aime des nourritures libres!

Les macarons de PIERRE HERMÉ (Paris)

You know what the secret to skinny butts and desserts everyday is? Going halfsies. In addition to being better than no desserts at all, it costs less to share and is not nearly as fattening as a whole.

Awesome drawing by Feng

But you know what the secret to getting exams off your mind. Eatting piles of desserts straight after it! At work, my Boss & I were pretty much "taste-testing" alot of the desserts that we had, from mini hedgehogs and macedamia slices to even cheesecake... mmm free food. I like my butts round and firm :) *squeeze*

Okay, I guess I need to make this blog abit more about my life (unless you readers don't really care.. well suck). Had an accounting exam in the morning and I really don't feel like blogging about that. *damn you face book* I'll just pray and hope I don't have to repeat accounting again in uni, ever!

--time skip to night time--
It's 2am and I just got back from Airstream with Benjamin & David for some chat along with Chai Latte w/ Honey mm yum. Then hopped onto Frank and Nicole's table and discussed about asean camp & cars. To the friendly neighbourhood TAB for abit of gambling and with our luck combined togethor, Ben profited $280~ from the 3 different pokies machine... yes, $280 in total. I expect free food & coffee from him after using my luck to achieve that, maybe a ps3 in the future. The profits David and I earned, is insignificant and is quite embarrassing to expose, although we did manage to cheat the TAB staff by saying one of the pokies machine were jammed and didn't get our collection of $22. Yay.

my ODOT list for holidays (join for the fun):
*Macarons, experimenting with different flavours
*Kouign-Amann
*Tarts
Many more cakes & desserts

Why you may be wondering that there is alot macaron pictures rather than other desserts is because lately, I have fallen in love to how simple(or so it sounds) and how it presented through many different blogs. Although I am not known to be a meringue fan, just discovering the vast variety of beautiful colours and range of flavours these parisian macarons (mini-hamburgers) makes me stare in awe.

And hungry!

I want a new oven :(

wait let me rephrase, I NEED A NEW OVEN

Here is the recipe I've chosen from La Tartine Gourmande
Matcha Tea and Chocolate Ganache:

For the Chocolate Ganache

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 5 1/3 oz dark chocolate, 65 % cocoa

Steps:

• Grate the chocolate and place it in a bowl.
• Heat the cream and bring to a simmer. Stop and pour over the chocolate. Let sit for 1 mn, then mix together to get a smooth paste. Let cool before using.

For the Matcha Meringue (for about 15 small macarons)

• 2 egg whites (2 oz), at room temperature
• 3.5 oz confectioner’s sugar, sifted
• 2 oz almond flour, sifted
• 1 oz fine sugar
• 1/2 tsp matcha tea powder
• A few drops of green coloring
• 1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Steps:

• Sift the almond flour and confectioner’s sugar. Add the sifted matcha tea powder. Keep.
• Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer. Start to mix on medium speed with 1/2 Tbsp fine sugar and the cream of tartar. Once slightly foamy, increase the speed. After a few mns, when they are almost firm, add the rest of the sugar, and a few drops of coloring. The egg whites should form nice firm peaks. Keep.
• Add the dry ingredients to the egg whites in two or three times, making sure you fold them in carefully (Make circular movements using a rubber spatula). Once the preparation homogeneous, it is ready. Do not overwork the meringue batter.
• On one (or more) baking sheets, place a Silpat or a piece of parchment paper. With a decoration bag, pipe small amounts of batter 1 inch in diameter, 1 inch apart. Leave to rest for 1 hour.
• Preheat your oven at 320 F.
• Place the baking sheet in the oven and cook for about 12 to 13 mns, according to the macaron size (if you make bigger ones, increase the cooking time). After 7 to 8 mns, crack the oven door open (keep it open inserting a wooden spoon for example) and reduce the heat to 290 F.
• Take the macarons out of the oven (check whether they are cooked by touching them lightly) and pour a thin stream of water under the Silpat to create some steam. The macarons will be easier to remove. Wait a little before removing them from the Silpat (use a flexible spatula if they stick). Let them cool down on racks before assembling.
• Once the filling cold — but not at fridge temperature — pipe some on one macaron half and stick the other half on top.

Give it a go, could be a tad tricky!